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Earth’s shape and dimensions

An ellipsoid of revolution is specified by two parameters: a
semimajor axis (equatorial radius for Earth) and a semiminor axis (polar radius), or the flattening. Flattening (
f) is defined as the difference in magnitude between the
semimajor axis (
a) and the semiminor axis (
b) divided by the
semimajor axis, or
f = (
a −
b)/
a. For Earth the...

planetary orbital elements

...from the Sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times; and (3) the ratio of the squares of the periods of revolution around the Sun of any two planets equal the ratio of the cubes of the semimajor axes of their respective orbital ellipses.